Behind the scenes on
The Next Iron Chef, Food Network’s culinary production team is responsible for making sure that the rival chefs have everything they need to cook and present their dishes — from a stocked pantry to plenty of serving vessels. They shared some fun facts about what it took to pull off the
Grand Central Station challenge in episode five.

How many hours did it take to shoot the Grand Central challenge?

Fifteen hours, during which we had to stop production for five minutes because of a flash mob that took place in the terminal.

Was the Grand Central Market closed to regular customers during the challenge?

The market opened to the public just as we were finishing the shopping scramble, so the chefs had to work around some patrons.

NIC4 Episode 5 Chairman's Challenge "Story Telling"

Rival-Chef Alex Guarnaschelli scrambling for ingredients at Grand Central Station in Episode 5 Chairman's Challenge "Story Telling" as seen on Food Network Next Iron Chef Season 4.

Simon Majumdar is allergic to coffee, so even though there was a coffee stall open to them in the market, they couldn’t buy anything from there. Alex was the only one who went over to the stall and she asked for the bags that were used during judging with the aromas of NYC inside.

NIC4 Episode 5 Secret Ingredient Showdown

Culinary department setting up for Episode 5 Secret Ingredient Showdown "Bagels" as seen on Food Network Next Iron Chef Season 4.